I breastfed like a champ with both of my kids, even nursing my daughter while I was pregnant with my son. It was not seamless, however, because when I initially started breastfeeding my first-born I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and spent a lot of time frantically trying to work through the process. I consulted the library of pregnancy books I had, but none of them were specific to breastfeeding so I don’t think they offered as much information as I actually needed.

This is one of the reasons why I was really impressed by The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding by Marianne Neifert, MD. The main emphasis of the book is the art of breastfeeding, but it also has other topics including dealing with sleep deprivation and  eventually starting solid foods. While most baby books are written with the perspective that moms want to learn about caring for a baby and will maybe breastfeed, this book is written with the perspective that a breastfeeding mom also needs to know about dealing with other aspects of raising a baby. I really wish  I would have had this book when I was a new mom.

Babies Online is giving away a free copy of The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding. Simply leave a comment on this post to be entered to win.

The book also dedicates a full chapter to how dads can assist mom with breastfeeding. After all, nursing a baby can be really hard, so when a dad isn’t on board it can be downright impossible. The book covers just about every aspect a nursing mom might need to know about, whether it’s pumping, nutrition or postpartum depression. Everything is presented in a very readable way, so even though it’s written by a pediatrician it doesn’t read like a medical manual.

I give this book a huge thumbs up.

This is the type of book that should be given to pregnant moms as they prepare to have their babies and start nursing. It’s a book that will sit at the mom’s bedside and will undoubtedly be thumbed through over and over again for reference.

The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding is appropriate for any nursing mom, whether she will stay home with the baby or return to work as soon as possible. Pick up this book if you are pregnant or new to nursing because it will probably answer all of your questions (and the questions you don’t know you have yet).

We’re mid-way through World Breastfeeding Week, but it’s not too late to get involved. The theme for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week is “Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life.”

The health benefits of breastfeeding through the first year and beyond are well established. But many people don’t think about nursing mothers during times of tragedy such as earthquakes, floods, or war. There is no better comfort, both physical and emotional, for a mother and baby in the midst of a disaster, than nursing. It’s especially important that nursing mothers receive the support they need, including water, healthy food, and a comfortable place to nurse.

World Breastfeeding Week, taking place from August 1 – 7, 2009 is organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. According to the organization, breastfeeding advocates in more than 150 countries will take part in the celebration, now in its 18th year.

Breast is best, even in a crisis

The World Health Organization and UNICEF have joined WABA in the celebration. Both organizations issued a press release explaining the importance of a mother breastfeeding her infant or toddler in the midst of a crisis.

Historically, well-meaning groups have cited “inadequate milk supply” brought on by stress and/or malnutrition as a reason to provide nursing mothers with formula. In reality, breastfeeding through a crisis helps the mother maintain her milk supply (as most nursing mothers know, the more you nurse the more milk you produce), as well as offering emotional benefits throughout the tragedy. The endorphins released during breastfeeding can actually help a mother cope when everything she has known is in upheaval. Meanwhile, the nursing infant or toddlers regains a sense of normalcy from the familiarity of his mother’s milk.

Even more important, the antibodies present in breast milk can help children fight off infections and disease that may result from less-than-sanitary conditions, a lack of clean water and inadequate food supplies.

Breastmilk (unless it is pumped) needs no refrigeration for storage, requires no heating or added water, and involves no sterilization of bottles and nipples. As far as a convenient, nutritious “emergency” food, it really doesn’t get any better!

Local activities

Several local organizations, including various chapters of La Leche League, are hosting fundraising and awareness activities in honor of World Breastfeeding Week, with a specific emphasis on this year’s theme.

Some of the activities include picnics, bake sales, walk-a-thons, potluck dinners and more. You can find out more at the La Leche League USA Web site.

You don’t even have to leave your house to support the message of World Breastfeeding Week, though. The Mother’s International Lactation Campaign (M.I.L.C.), non-profit organization, dedicated to the normalization, protection and promotion of breastfeeding, is holding a Virtual Nurse-in until August 7 at 6 PM.

Get involved

No one likes to think about tragedy striking, but natural and man-made disasters can occur anywhere. There’s no reason for a nursing mother to curtail her breastfeeding during challenging times.

It’s easy to get involved in raising awareness of the importance of breastfeeding during emergencies. You can participate in any of the activities going on worldwide, join M.I.L.C’s efforts as part of the virtual nurse-in or simply take a few minutes while you are nursing to think about those experiencing difficult times – and then spread the word to others about how important it is to consider nursing mothers during emergency preparedness.

It stinks to be a sick mom. There’s no way around that. Housework still needs to be done, dinner cooked, children cared for – even if you feel as if you just want to down a shot of Nyquil and crawl under the covers for about a week.

When you’re a nursing mother – whether your baby is newborn, close to a year, or older – you don’t even have the option of downing Nyquil due to concerns about alcohol and breastfeeding. It can be pure torture. What can you do?

When I came down with a cold last week – at the same time my nine-month-old was battling a double ear infection – I devised a few coping strategies.

Napping

Sleep when baby sleeps. Remember what they used to tell you in those first few weeks after childbirth? That’s right … take advantage of naptime to catch some ZZZs yourself. If you have to, lie down with your nursing baby in the middle of the day. Whatever it takes, get your rest.

Medication

Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl and Chlor-trimeton are approved for use while breastfeeding. Be aware that Benadryl may reduce your milk supply and also may make the baby drowsy. (I know it’s politically incorrect, but if you’re sick, is this really so horrible?)

Keep in mind that most antihistamines and decongestants, including Dimetapp and Sudafed, are not recommended while breastfeeding, as they may substantially decrease your milk supply. Any products with menthol, including menthol cough drops, may also decrease your milk supply. Find out more information on medicine and nursing mothers.

Vaporizers

Research shows that putting Vicks or other menthol products in a vaporizer can be harmful to an infant’s lungs. However, a humidifier with plain filtered water can do wonders to clear and moisten your nasal passages.

Vitamins

This is one of my favorite natural cold remedies, and most doctors say it’s safe if you’re breastfeeding a baby. Every two hours, I alternate a vitamin C drop with a zinc-gluconate drop, such as Cold-eeze. Oddly, vitamin C blocks the positive effects of zinc, so make sure to wait an hour between each drop. Do not drink any citrus for an hour before or after taking zinc, either.

Neti Pot

Highly recommended for people with recurring allergies or sinus problems, a neti pot works well to clear the nasal passages during the common cold, as well. Since it’s all natural and you’re not actually ingesting anything, it’s 100% safe for a nursing mom. It’s not the aforementioned Nyquil, but hey, we’ll take what we can get, right?

Drink Water

If you’re sick and run down, and possibly stressed out as a result, your milk supply may drop. To maintain your supply, make sure you get plenty of rest, drink water, and take in enough calories. A nursing mom needs about 500 more calories per day to compensate for the extra work the body does to produce milk. Since you’re probably not very active if you’re sick, you may get away with eating a little bit less than usual since you’re not burning as many calories. Still, remember to follow the old adage and “feed a cold.” Drink water, tea, juices – anything you can in order to stay hydrated and keep your milk supply up.

The good news, as a breastfeeding mom, is that your body is producing antibodies to fight your cold, and passing those antibodies onto your little one. That’s not to say your breastfed baby won’t get sick if you’re sick, but there’s a good chance she won’t. If your baby does get your cold, it might be a milder version.

I’ve had three colds in the past nine months – my most recent bout passed my daughter by, although she did catch the two colds prior. As she gets older, her immune system is getting stronger and I’m sure the fact that I’m still nursing her has helped a lot.

What do you think about the mother in this case? A 26-year-old North Dakota mom was arrested for breastfeeding her baby while she was drunk.

Police were called to her home to investigate a domestic disturbance, and found Stacey Anvarinia breastfeeding her 6-week-old baby. The officers believed that she was drunk and arrested her. Last week she pleaded guilty to child neglect charges, and is due to be sentenced next month.

North Dakota authorities said that they believed that the police were correct to make the arrest, even if the mother hadn’t been breastfeeding, out of concern that the child was being taken care of by someone who was intoxicated.

Getting falling-down drunk then breastfeeding is one thing. But having a glass of wine in the evening – is that something that a mom could be arrested for? I hope not. Unwinding at the end of the day when baby is in bed with a little TV and a glass of wine is sanity-restoring to many moms.

The La Leche League says that light drinking is compatible with breastfeeding, and that one drink a day or less isn’t harmful to your baby.

So can you drink alcohol if you are breastfeeding? And should you be worried about being arrested? Alcohol certainly gets into breastmilk in small quantities.

So the most sensible thing for nursing mom to do is just a little planning. It takes a couple of hours for your body to process one drink – like a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. So if you have a glass of red wine in the evening just after you put baby to bed, knowing that the next time you’ll need to nurse won’t be for a couple of hours at least, then you and your baby should be fine.

And if you have more than one drink? What if you are going to a wedding, or a night out? Some mothers avoid breastfeeding their babies for several hours after drinking, either pumping breastmilk beforehand to feed the baby, or using formula. Then, after drinking alcohol, pumping milk and dumping it eases any engorgement and gets rid of any milk which may have alcohol in it.

What do you think? Are you a nursing mother who drinks alcohol? How much is too much? Or should nursing moms never drink alcohol?

I’ll never forget the moment when I was absolutely sure that I just couldn’t keep going as a mom.  My two year old was having a fitful sleep and kept waking me up with her yelps from the nightmares she was having.  My newborn was sleeping in the bed with me because it was the only way we could get him to sleep.  My husband was asleep downstairs because he couldn’t handle getting woken up several times an hour, so I was left to deal with it all on my own.

My son woke up crying, so I woke up and discovered that his diaper had leaked all over us, so both him and I were covered with pee.  The bed was soaked but I didn’t have the gumption to get up and get new sheets because I was exhausted.  It then hit me that I was completely willing to sleep in a puddle of pee because I didn’t have the energy to go get new sheets, so I started crying right along with my son.  I held him and cried, and figured that if there was a breaking point for moms then it probably looked a little something like this: a sobbing mom sitting in a puddle of pee with a crying newborn.

Ah, memories.

If you’re a new parent then you can expect to have moments like this.  You might not wind up in the exact same situation – I really hope you don’t, by the way – but it could be any number of things.  I had one friend who absolutely lost it on her father-in-law when he ate the last banana in the house that was supposed to be for her baby’s breakfast.  I had another friend who called me sobbing in a panic because she just couldn’t stand looking at the walls in her house anymore, yet couldn’t fathom gathering her twin boys into the car to leave.  A few years later, all of us are competent moms who only break down sobbing once in a great while, and usually because our kids do something so moving that we cry from good emotions.

The point is that you can get through the really tough times with your baby.  Yes, there will be times when you are so exhausted and so emotional that you feel like you simply can’t do anything other than stay in bed and cry, but try to keep it all in perspective.  You’re tired, you’re hormonal, and chances are you’re a little overwhelmed by the thought of being responsible for another life.  It’s no wonder we all crack once in a while.

You can do it.  Trust me.

I miss my pregnant belly.  You may wonder why in the world I would miss having a huge stomach that didn’t allow me to tie my own shoes, but there was just something amazing about having a big pregnant belly.  When the point came when I couldn’t suck in my belly anymore there was a real liberation with that.  After all, most women suck in our bellies constantly, but once you reach a certain point in pregnancy there’s no chance that you can suck anything in.  Instead, you just relax and let your belly be huge.  I can’t do that now, although thankfully my belly is nowhere near as huge as it was when I was pregnant.

I also liked how people urged me to eat more.  “You must be hungry! You have to eat to keep up your energy, carrying that heavy load around!” Nobody says that to me anymore, and frankly if anyone did I would surely take it as an insult.

I really miss feeling the baby move inside of me.  I’ll admit that there were many times when I was trying to sleep and my baby kicked me that I wasn’t so thrilled about it, but I don’t think there are many things that can compare to feeling a baby inside me with hiccups.  I distinctly remember hugging my belly and having my friends do the same while we all sang out, “Hug the baby!” What an awesome connection with a baby that isn’t even born yet.

I do miss making people take a second glance.  Once when my husband and I were in the waiting room at the doctor’s office – and I was about thirty-eight weeks pregnant – I jumped up and did a hula dance just because I knew it would be a ridiculous sight for everyone in the room.  A woman doing the hula in a waiting room is a little weird, but a really pregnant woman doing the hula in a waiting room is downright hilarious.

Most of all, I miss the powerful feeling that I was solely responsible for carrying around a life inside me.  It’s such a powerful feeling.  Nursing my baby was a similar feeling, but nothing really matches how I felt watching my belly go from it’s normal size to pretty darn huge because I knew I was capable of growing a baby inside me.

Do you nurse in public? When I first began breastfeeding my son, I was extremely shy about nursing in front of anyone. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to see any more skin than I might want to show someone, whether I was in public or even at home with guests. But after spending the Christmas holidays holed up in the bedroom nursing my newborn rather than enjoying the company of our visiting family members, I realized enough was enough. After all, no one was making me breastfeed my son in private – except me.

A quick survey would have found that our guests would not have been uncomfortable with me nursing in front of them. I was the one who was embarrassed.

Nursing in public can be challenging, especially the first time. But over the past few months I have come up with several tips and tricks for nursing in public.

• Find a secluded spot. If you can, try to find a low traffic site where you can nurse comfortably. This could be a corner booth in a restaurant, a dressing room at the department store, or a park bench.
• Make sure you’re comfortable. There’s nothing worse than hunching over to get baby to latch – and then getting stuck in that position for a half hour or longer. Bring a pillow if you need to, or use a folded up blanket to position yourself and your baby comfortably.
• Make sure others are comfortable. If I’m with a group, I ask if anyone would be uncomfortable with my nursing my son. In most cases, everyone is fine with it, but I think sometimes it doesn’t hurt to ask.
• Don’t over-expose. In the winter, a pashmina scarf around my neck and shoulders helps to keep people from seeing anything I don’t want them to see. In warmer months, I bring with me a receiving blanket that I can drape over my shoulder to shield baby from onlookers. Many online stores also sell special tops or covers to keep you covered during a feeding.
• Practice at home. Nurse your baby in front of a mirror or ask your husband or a friend if they can see more than you would want someone to see of you in public.
• Check the laws. Many states have laws regarding breastfeeding. Check out this link for your local laws. Some states allow breastfeeding in any public place. Some states will even let you get our of jury duty if you are a nursing mom!

Breastfeeding in public can be nerve racking, but with a few preparations you can do so comfortably.

My five-month-old daughter is a sporadic eater. Some days, she wants to eat every hour, for an hour at a time, and I can’t make enough milk to keep her satisfied. Other days, she’s on a nice every three or four hour schedule. On those days, I keep walking into stuff with my boobs because I forget how big they’ve gotten, engorged with milk. (I was a small B-cup before pregnancy, and I really sympathize with large-chested women now!)

I didn’t have much luck with a breast pump. I purchased a decent, mid-priced, multi-speed electric. It doesn’t work for me, but since I work at home, I couldn’t justify spending more to get a better pump for the handful of times I might use it. I really don’t mind the engorgement; I like knowing I have milk available in case my daughter wants it!

However, if I could pump, my supply would probably be more steady. Instead, I’ve had to resort to other tactics to keep my supply up for those days when she is an insatiable eating machine.

Here are my best tips for increasing your milk production.

• Pump or nurse a lot. When I first started nursing, I also had issues with my milk supply. My pediatrician recommended supplementing with formula, which turned out to be counterintuitive. I increased my supply simply by letting my daughter nurse A LOT. I used olive oil or Lansinoh on my nipples to prevent soreness.

• Relax. A few weeks ago, every magazine I write for was on deadline, clients were slow to pay, and I was stressing big time. My milk production dropped—at an inopportune time, when my daughter was going through a growth spurt. Nursing moms, remember, whatever else you have going on in your life at this time, your primary job is to make milk to feed your baby. *Everything else takes a back seat.* (Well, except your other kids, if you have them, of course). I can’t stress this enough. The second I made my deadlines and got some money in my bank account, my milk production increased again. But I made the mistake of letting outside stressors get to me. Meditate, exercise, take deep breaths, soak in a tub, take a few hours and spend some time with your friends. Whatever you need to do to relax, do it! You owe it to yourself and your baby.

• Stay hydrated – I notice my supply drop slightly if I don’t stay hydrated. The recommended amount is 8 glasses—that’s 64 oz., or a half gallon—of water a day.

• Oatmeal – When my milk production dropped last time, I realized I had switched from having oatmeal every morning for breakfast to eating whole-grain waffles. Again, no one knows why it works, but steel cut oats (not that fake instant oatmeal) supposedly increases milk production. I’m back to oatmeal and I’m back to a good supply.

• Fenugreek – This herbal supplement has been used for thousands of years to help nursing mothers produce more milk. You should take approximately three 590 – 610 mg. capsules three times a day, or until your sweat and urine begin to smell like maple syrup. Do not use Fenugreek if you are pregnant. Read more about this powerful herb.

• Blessed Thistle – This is supposed to work in combination with Fenugreek to increase milk supply. I had success with Fenugreek alone, so I haven’t tried Blessed Thistle. Read more about it.

• Eat enough. Nursing moms need 500 calories above their recommended usual caloric intake. While it’s nice to treat yourself to dessert every once in a while and not have to worry about it going straight to your hips, try to get those extra calories from healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and a tiny bit of extra protein. Remember, if you exercise, you need to take in those calories you burned PLUS an extra 500.

Nursing moms, what tips did I forget? What worked to increase your milk production?

Nursing your baby should be a comfortable and enjoyable experience for you both, right? Then why is it that so many women find the experience to be difficult, uncomfortable or pain-inducing? Before you throw in the towel and turn to formula, there are a few things that you can try to make the process of nursing more comfortable.

First, make sure you are relaxed. Choose an area in your home where you are comfortable, such as a cozy and supportive chair, preferably with arms. Put your feet up on a foot rest or stool and relax. Use pillows to support your back or arms, and a nursing pillow to prop up the baby to the correct position and make feeding easier on your back. Take deep breaths, relax, and enjoy the closeness of your baby.

Have your essentials nearby. Before you begin nursing, make sure there is a table or other surface within arm’s reach, and place your essentials there for easy access. You might be there a while, so plan to have a big glass of water, snacks, a book, the television remote, a phone or any other items you might need.

When beginning the nursing session, be sure you’re comfortable. Resist the urge to hunch forward when getting your baby to latch – instead, use those pillows to prop the baby up and to support your arms.

Take care of yourself. If you are beginning to get sore nipples, treat them with lanolin made especially for nursing moms. Also be sure to get plenty of rest, as well as healthy foods and plenty of water. In addition, if you are feeling pain or discomfort while nursing, contact your doctor or a lactation consultant as soon as it starts so that you can be treated right away. Mastitis, plugged ducts and other problems can make nursing difficult for both you and baby – the sooner you are treated, the sooner you will both feel better.

Breastfeeding isn’t always easy, but you can do some simple things to make the experience more comfortable and relaxed.

I’ve heard a lot of moms say they received a Boppy pillow and never used it because they weren’t sure what to do with it. Then there are Boppy enthusiasts who say they couldn’t live without the comfy horseshoe-shaped pillow. I fall into the latter category. I use it for everything! So to help Moms who aren’t sure what to do with this odd-looking contraption, here are uses for a Boppy pillow!

I didn’t bring the Boppy to the hospital with me, so I used my memory foam pillow to prop the baby on my lap in bed for a better feeding position. But when I returned home, I wouldn’t have minded having two Boppies. I used one to support my back while I sat up in bed to feed her during late-night nursing sessions. By the time she was three weeks old, my daughter got all excited when she saw what I affectionately called “the Boppy Bears” come out. (Our pillow has a three little bears design on the front.) I often say, “Thank goodness for the Boppy Bears!”

• The other night, desperate to finish an article, I sat cross-legged on our floor and placed Ashley on the Boppy pillow to nurse, so I had both hands free to type on my laptop. This put her in the perfect position to latch on without assistance. Since nursing is such an important bonding time, I don’t do this often… But hey, WAHMs have to pay the bills, too!
• As Ashley began to sit up with assistance, I used the Boppy to let her sit on the couch beside me and my husband. Propping the Boppy at a 45-degree angle against the back of the couch, I sit Ashley inside the opening. It gives her the side-to-side support she needs and she feels more like part of the family. Most places that infants can sit or lie put them down near the floor, not up on-level with the rest of the family.
• Yesterday morning, I fed her breakfast on the couch sitting up with her Boppy, rather than setting her up in the kitchen where it gets very cold in the morning. The Boppy pillowcase is easily removable and machine-washable, so I didn’t worry about oatmeal drips on the pillow.
• We use the Boppy as a prop in photo shoots, to position the baby exactly how we want her.
• The Boppy is also great for tummy time. You can prop baby’s arms on the pillow so she’s not lying flat. This makes tummy time more tolerable for many babies.

The other night, I got quite a laugh when I saw my husband napping on the couch, using the Boppy as his pillow. The shape creates fantastic neck support, and the covering is just warm and cozy.

As Ashley grows into a toddler, I’m sure she’ll find her own favorite position to lie using her Boppy. And I’m considering buying a Boppy for everyone in the family!

A safety tip: never leave the baby alone with the Boppy pillow as it could create a danger of suffocation.

I remember the first time I tried to go shopping with my first baby.  I composed a meticulous list and tried to plan it around her nap time so she would fall asleep in the car and would slumber peacefully throughout the shopping trip.  I envisioned triumphantly returning home with a trunk full of groceries and bursting with pride that I could tackle the grocery store while my baby was in tow.

It didn’t happen quite like that.  In fact, she woke up the second I put her carrier in the cart and she screamed through the whole thing except for when I threw my hands up in resignation and plopped down in front of the freezer case to nurse her (true story, really).  When I got home my husband asked me what I had bought and if I remember right I burst into tears and replied with, “I don’t know!” I hadn’t used my coupons and had discarded the shopping list pretty early on in the trip because I couldn’t attend to her while also shopping from a list.

I look back on that with amusement nowadays, mostly because that same baby is now five years old and can actually help me at the store.  I also try to go shopping by myself as much as I can because I find there is a direct correlation to the number of family members I have with me and the total amount I spend on groceries.

For example, the other day I managed to get to the grocery store by myself and wasn’t in any sort of rush.  I wrote a list of groceries I needed for an entire week and was armed with a bunch of coupons.  I took my time, compared prices, and walked out of there with having saved almost $20 in coupons on a $100 grocery bill.

Part of the reason I saved so much money was because I had the time to look at prices since there were no kids to stop from smashing jars or running down the aisle.  I think a lot of it also had to do with the fact that nobody was standing there asking me for treats.  Nobody begged for a certain type of cereal, nobody screamed and pointed at the goldfish crackers, and my husband wasn’t there to glance lovingly at the expensive steaks in the meat department before batting his eyelashes at me in an attempt to get me to buy the pricey meat.

I always save money on groceries when I go alone.  While it’s true that there are many other things I would much rather do when I have the opportunity to have someone else watch my kids, in the long run I know it’s going to save us money.

When I had my first child, I needed quite a bit of breastfeeding support in order to gain enough confidence to breastfeed properly. I had a public health nurse come visit, I went to numerous breastfeeding clinics, I read and I went to breastfeeding workshops.

The one person who really helped me through was Dr. Jack Newman. He is known by many as the breastfeeding “guru” and in my books, he truly is amazing.

Whenever I had a personal question, I emailed him and he returned my email usually within 24 hours or less. His website is an excellent resource for breastfeeding mothers.

With my second child, I required less support in getting breastfeeding to be successful (although we still do have our challenges), but the one thing that saved my life (or at least it feels that way) was Dr. Newman’s recipe for All Purpose Nipple Ointment. This ointment is like a miracle cream. Seriously! I found this ointment has also helped some other skin issues that I have had since giving birth (at my doctor’s suggestion) and I have learned just how “all purpose” this ointment truly is!

Dr. Newman’s website is a valuable resource for breastfeeding Moms. He includes many helpful handouts on every topic under the sun when it comes to breastfeeding. He also have some videos that are very helpful, especially for first time Moms.

Jack Newman runs a breastfeeding clinic that used to be government funded, but since 2005 has lost that funding altogether. In order to continue running his amazing clinic and his VERY valuable website and services, he requires donations.

OK, tell me something I don’t know. I hope the researchers from southern California didn’t pay too much money to learn that going to back to work makes it more difficult to continue nursing your baby.

Specifically, they learned that when women go back to work in less than six weeks, they are up to four times more likely to quit breastfeeding. And, if they go back to work somewhere between six and twelve weeks, they are at twice the “risk” of weaning the baby. The findings were published in January in a report titled “Juggling Work and Breastfeeding: Effects of Maternity Leave and Occupational Characteristics.”

Of course, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for a full twelve months. And of course, the authors of the study say women should take longer maternity leaves. That might be possible in France, where, by law, women are given four months of PAID leave (six weeks before birth and ten weeks after). But here in the US, the Family Medical Leave Act promises full-time working moms (and dads) that their jobs will be there when they return from up to 12 weeks of UNpaid leave. Women who work part-time are not protected by the FMLA.

Actually, researchers from Canada’s McGill University surveyed 168 countries, and learned that the United States, along with Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea were the only countries without any paid maternity leave. As many as 98 nations pay 14 weeks or more! Of course, it’s a matter of great debate whether or not we should pay for maternity leave here in America–a worthwhile debate that I don’t want to get into right now.

I actually just wonder how many women do manage to continue nursing after returning to work. My son was born in December. Since I was a teacher overseas, I lost my job for the rest of the year. We returned to the US and I began teaching part-time again in August. And, in fact, my son quit nursing soon after. For me, I couldn’t do the pump. I felt like a dairy cow when I hooked up to that thing. Now, with my daughter, I intended to return to work this month, but due to budget restraints in our local school district, there is no job for me. So I’m not teaching, and I am still breastfeeding. Probably not a coincidence. I had two friends/colleagues who would go into the restroom at lunch and pump breast milk, put it in the refrigerator in the office and use it for the next day’s bottles at the sitter. Whew! I admire them. I couldn’t keep that up.

Do you think that going back to work affected the duration of nursing your baby? Would paid leave make a difference for you as far as breastfeeding goes? Is it necessarily “bad” to quit nursing your baby after you go back to work at 6 or 12 weeks?

I’ve been hoping that I can continue to breastfeed my 9-month old daughter until she is one year old—when I don’t have to buy formula anymore. (My son weaned himself somewhere between 9 and 10 months.) At that age, most pediatricians will say babies can go to cow’s milk. I know some people will nurse through the second year for various reasons. I don’t think I could do it. I’m not sure what my cut-off would be, but I told my husband that if one of them bit me with teeth, I was done. One thing I am sure of, eight years old is too old for me.

But not for Veronica Robinson! She believes that children should be able to decide for themselves when to wean, whether it’s 9 months, or 9 years, or even…19. She nursed her first daughter, Bethany, until she was 5. Her nearly-8 year old, Eliza, isn’t ready to quit. When she asked them when someone should stop breastfeeding, the girls replied, “Never!” Because, according to one of them, it’s better than a mango or a melon.

In the video clip above,  Veronica said, “They won’t breastfeed forever, it’s just that simple. They will not breastfeed when they go to college or get married.” Well, I should hope not. But when will they quit? Veronica says she’s giving them a small gift of comfort. But I’m not convinced. The girls have named her breasts, and draw pictures of them, like they were pets.

The family is from England, but I wonder if this might not be questioned by CYFD in the United States. I also wonder if this is really a gift for the girls, or does Mom have her identity wrapped up in these children?

How long is too long to breastfeed? Is extremely extended nursing a form of child abuse? How did you decide when to wean your own babies?

Karen Speed, like many women around the world, has a Facebook page where she uploads pictures of herself and her three sons. But when this Canadian woman recently tried to log in to her account, she was surprised to find out she had been suspended for inappropriate use.

“I was kind of confused,” said Karen Speed, whose boys are 20 months, four and nine. Soon, she received emails from Facebook warning that she would be banned from the social networking site if she did not remove photographs containing nudity. The site’s administrator removed an offending photo in demonstration—one in which she was breastfeeding her son. Originally, Speed created the page expressly for the purpose of providing nursing support (she does this locally, as well). But to underscore their seriousness, Facebook also deleted her online nursing help and contacts.

Facebook explicitly states that they do not allow pictures that show “nudity, drug use or other obscene content.” They defend their decision by noting that photos of nursing mothers are allowed, as long as they do not contain nudity, which is a violation of the agreement all users “check” when signing up in the first place. In other words, you can see a baby at its mothers breast, as long as you can’t see the breast itself. For what it’s worth, MySpace does the same thing—delete “obscene” breastfeeding shots.

Not surprisingly, Facebook’s decision has drawn a mob of angry moms. In response to Facebook’s stance, and in support of Karen Speed, a new breastfeeding petition group has emerged, called “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” At the time I looked at the page, the group had 62,937 members. On the front page of the site, the group’s moderator asks, “What about a baby breastfeeding is obscene?” and requests that Facebook allow all breastfeeding shots. Self-described ‘lactivists‘ have uploaded hundreds of nursing shots.

So far, they haven’t changed any administrator’s mind. In an effort to call attention to their request and to protest what they deem as discrimination, oppression and injustice, the group is planning an “event”. On a new page called “M.I.L.C.” (Mothers International Lactation Campaign), coordinators are planning a full-frontal breastfeeding photo campaign, as well as real life nurse-ins. I suppose they feel that by bombarding Facebook with photos they don’t allow, they will change the site’s policy.

I am a breastfeeding mom. I do support (and occasionally practice) nursing a baby in public. I have a Facebook page with pictures of my kids. My husband has taken a few pictures of me feeding babies. But I never let him take pictures of, nor do I ever intentionally expose, the unlatched nipple. And I wouldn’t upload any of them to the internet, simply because there are some people I don’t want viewing my chest. I think that a site like Facebook, which tries diligently to keep their pages decent, needs to draw a hard line somewhere. They say no exposed breasts—for obvious reasons. If a member reports a violating photograph, the administrators take it down within an hour.

Now, most of use would say nursing shots are a different animal than a drunken shirt-raising shot, but it’s just more realistic for such a huge organization like this to say they don’t have time to make individual decisions. No boobs. I’m OK with that. I don’t really want to see someone else’s breasts, anyway. I don’t think it’s obscene, but it is unnecessary.

I know many of you breastfeed. Would you (or will you) participate in this campaign? Even if you don’t nurse or don’t want to expose yourself, what do you think about Facebook’s policy?

Like many parents, I’ve been concerned about recent news stories that tell about chemicals like melamine in baby formula and chemicals like BPA, which leech from plastic in baby bottles.

I was extremely frustrated when I learned that some breast pumps actually have parts which contain BPA too.  For example, the cups, bottles and storage containers that come with the Nursing Necessity breast pump line  may contain BPA.  I say “may” because Playtex has committed to phase out BPA from it’s products by the end of 2008.

I’ve been researching the subject and I found out that Playtex is offering free samples of BPA free bottles.  The free offer is good only while supplies last, so hurry and get your sample!

Although Playtex has agreed to stop using BPA in their products by the end of this year,  many of their products were already BPA free.   Playtex products that are BPA free should have a green icon that appears on the product declaring that it’s BPA free.

I appreciate the fact that this company has taken steps to remove this chemical from their products and also that they make it easy for a mom to find safe products.  There is no guess work at all: simply look for the BPA free icon.

Maybe it’s due to sleep-deprivation, or maybe I’m just not very good at remembering landmarks. I know that my daughter’s first intentional smile took place at approximately four weeks, but I don’t remember the circumstances or the exact date. I also know that I should have written it down in her baby book while it was still fresh in my mind.

I recall telling my husband, “I think Ashley smiled today, while I was changing her clothes, but I’m not sure.” Thinking back, I’m sure it was a smile because she loves putting on new clothes and usually smiles the whole time.

That first smile is a bit foggy, but a few other smiles remain indelibly imbedded in my memory.

-    I remember the first time she smiled after nursing, lying her head on my breast and smiling with her whole face. It’s hard to know, when you’re nursing, if the baby is getting enough food. Weight gain, of course, is an indication that she’s eating enough. But this smile showed me in a way the numbers on the scale never could that she was satisfied after nursing.

I remember rubbing her back and leaning over to kiss her tiny forehead, and she smiled again.

-    My husband and I had been at a wedding until well after midnight. Our daughter was asleep in her bouncy chair when we returned home. She was fast asleep, but she smiled when she heard my voice, and again when I approached to give her a kiss.

-    I remember the first time she smiled at a toy. I hung a little Baby Einstein puppy from the toy rail on her bouncy chair, replacing the original toy that had been there since she was born.
I squeezed the dog and it barked. Her eyes got wide with surprise, and then she grinned. I continued making the dog bark and she continued smiling. I think she even giggled, but, like that first smile, I can’t be sure if it was an actual laugh or just a random sound.

As a full-time freelancer, my days used to be filled with lengthy to-do lists that involved interviews, transcriptions, and writing. I still keep a to-do list, but it is significantly shorter… and if I complete only one or two of the items on the list, I consider my day a success. But the true benchmark of a good day, now, is a day when I can keep my daughter smiling.

I’d love to hear other mom’s stories of their baby’s first smiles – or any other significant smiles in their infant’s lives.

In the interest of honesty, I’ll let you in on something that most of my friends probably already know but have been kind enough to not mention to me…at least not to my face: I gained too much weight with both my pregnancies, and even though my son is now a preschooler I still haven’t shed all the weight I gained from my first and second pregnancy. I guess when your “baby” starts speaking in complete sentences it becomes absurd to blame the pregnancy for the larger sized pants.

I could have been a little more careful with my eating and exercise during my pregnancies, and I know for sure that I went a little too crazy with my appetite while breastfeeding. I remember a friend telling me that Weight Watchers offers a special program for nursing moms, and while I never checked it out myself I couldn’t help but think that it took some of the fun out of being a nursing mom.

Now I’m reading about a “pregnancy diet” that is designed to help women keep their weight down throughout pregnancy. Talk about taking the fun out of something! It’s one thing to watch what you eat while pregnant and to make sure you get enough exercise, but an actual diet? My jaw would drop if a pregnant friend were to turn down a piece of pie, stating that she was on a diet. A diet? While pregnant? Well, I never.

I did a little research and found out that the diet is supposed to be based on medical research and be safe. Nonetheless, it has some nutritionists and doctors up in arms. I think the fear is that women will get the idea in their head that they aren’t supposed to gain any weight during pregnancy, and that’s just not healthy. I remember cringing at the numbers on the scale when I was pregnant, but never so much that I ever considered going on a diet.

It seems to me that if I had gained too much weight my doctor would have told me to cut back on my caloric intake and to increase my physical activities, but if he had referred me to a diet place I think I might have looked for a different doctor.

According to a government report conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, around 3 out of every 4 women breastfeed their children. This is an all time high according to researchers who track this sort of thing. Some reasons for the increase include public awareness, changing perceptions about breastfeeding, and educational campaigns geared toward encouraging people to breastfeed.

I always have mixed feelings about studies like this, simply because I know of women who have tried to nurse their children, and have for a variety of reasons, not been successful. So, that ?one? woman may have wanted to nurse, but may not have been able to nurse, for a variety of reasons. I remember very vividly how saddened my one friend became when she realized that her child would have to be bottle fed. Adding to the sadness was the opposition she faced from family and friends when she had to bottle feed.

I had just the opposite with my family when I decided to nurse my oldest child 15 years ago. They were very opposed to nursing and they were very vocal about those feelings. I remember spending many family gatherings in the back bedroom nursing my children just to get some peace and quiet. However, my persistence paid off and many of my younger cousins decided to breast feed their children. It was with pride that I noticed they were able to nurse without being confined to the back bedroom during family gatherings.

I?ve also noticed a positive change since my breastfeeding days 15 years ago. At that time, if your child needed to nurse, you pretty much had to go to the restroom and find a stall where you could feed your infant if you were out in public. Now, it?s common to find rooms in public places for nursing mothers. When my husband and I took our children to a local amusement park, I noticed that there were rooms at the first aid stations where mothers could nurse. There were bathrooms that had a stall specially designed for nursing mothers! Yes, I was back to nursing in a bathroom stall, but at least I wasn?t forced to sit on a toilet seat to do so.

I still think we have a long way to go at least in the United States as far as this issue goes. There are still mothers who are asked to leave malls for nursing, even discreetly, in public. There are still women who face opposition from their families for making the decision to nurse their children. There are also women who face opposition if they are unable to nurse, but must bottle feed their children.

Whatever you decide, I encourage you to do what is best for you and your baby. That may mean breast feeding your child. It may mean using formula in a bottle. It may be a combination of breast and bottle feeding. It?s important to ignore the negative comments and do what you need to do!

What have your experiences been with feeding issues? Have you faced opposition when you decided to breast or bottle feed your infant?

Before I got pregnant, though I wanted a baby very badly, I had a vague fear the effects of breastfeeding would have on my breasts. I was young then, and a bit vain. Of course that didn’t deter me from having my daughter, and breastfeeding her for 14 mos. Still a lot of mothers mourn the loss of their pre-pregnancy body, and many believe that their droopy breast are caused by that honorable task of breastfeeding their baby. There are also other mothers who, sadly, do not breastfeed their babies for fear of droopy breasts (and other reasons).

A recent study aims to debunk that belief however, and has concluded that nursing is “not a likely cause of post-pregnancy drooping of the breasts.”

Instead the study found the factors of droopy breasts to be older age, higher body mass index, greater number of pregnancies, larger pre-pregnancy cup size, and a history of smoking to be the more likely causes. They have acknowledged however, that there is no data disproving nursing as a cause of breast ptosis (the medical term).

I think I would add to that the fact that breasts stretch and grow during pregnancy as well as ever. I know I went from a size of barely B to a C when I got pregnant, and then to a D(!) when I got my milk in. They’re now back to the barely B cup size and not the same as they used to be. I didn’t expect to escape unscathed in that department with the stretching I experienced.

Mothers-to-be, educate yourself about breastfeeding and don’t let any fear of changes in your breasts deter you from breastfeeding. The benefits to your baby outweighs any physical changes you may be afraid of.